U.S. stocks trade higher after economic data

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as investors were digesting the latest economic data.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 66.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 24,960.10. The S&P 500 increased 6.97 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,705.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 40.85 points, or 0.57 percent, to 7,184.47.

The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4 percent last month after being unchanged in December, in line with market expectations.

Another report from the Labor Department on Thursday showed that in the week ending Feb. 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 230,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The 4-week moving average was 228,500, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average.

Analysts said recent data rekindled market concerns of surging inflation in the country, which had helped to send the U.S. equities to two-year lows last week.

Investors worried that strong rise in inflation would push the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as many as three times later this year. Enditem